Oxford University Press has declared 'rage bait' as its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting a dominant and troubling trend in our digital interactions. The announcement was made on Monday 1 December 2025, with the term beating two other internet-born finalists to claim the title.
What Does 'Rage Bait' Mean?
The publisher, which oversees the Oxford English Dictionary, defines 'rage bait' as a noun. It describes online content that is deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive. This content is typically posted to drive traffic or boost engagement on a specific webpage or social media account.
For those questioning if it's two words, Oxford clarifies it is considered a single, hyphenated compound phrase: rage-bait.
Why This Word Won in 2025
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, explained the selection. He stated that the dramatic surge in the term's usage indicates a growing public awareness of the manipulative tactics employed online.
"Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we've seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond," Grathwohl said.
He positioned 'rage bait' as a natural progression from last year's winner, 'brain rot'. While 'brain rot' captured the mental fatigue from endless scrolling, 'rage bait' exposes the purposefully engineered content that sparks the outrage driving that cycle.
"And together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted," he added. "These words don't just define trends, they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping our thinking and behaviour."
The Runners-Up and Public Vote
The other two words on the 2025 shortlist also originated from the internet, reflecting our digitally mediated lives.
Aura farming (noun): This refers to cultivating an impressive or charismatic public image by subtly conveying confidence or coolness. With origins in social media around 2023, it even entered political discourse; the Labour Party created a TikTok during the 2024 general election labelling former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak an "auramancer."
Biohack (verb): This means attempting to optimise one's physical or mental performance, health, or longevity through diet, exercise, supplements, or technology. The term has gained prominence as entrepreneurs publicly share their attempts to combat ageing.
The three contenders were put to a public vote on Instagram, which informed the final decision by Oxford's language experts.
A Decade of Defining Words
Oxford's Word of the Year has consistently captured the cultural zeitgeist. The 2024 winner was 'brain rot'. In 2023, it was the slang term 'rizz', meaning charm or attractiveness. Looking back further highlights evolving concerns:
- 2022: Goblin mode (voted by the public).
- 2021: Vax.
- 2020: No single word chosen due to the unprecedented year.
- 2019: Climate emergency.
- 2018: Toxic.
- 2017: Youthquake.
- 2016: Post-truth.
- 2015: The 'Face with Tears of Joy' emoji.
How Other Dictionaries See 2025
While Oxford champions 'rage bait', other major dictionaries have identified different words as defining the year. Collins Dictionary named 'vibe coding' its word of the year. This term describes an AI-driven software development process that turns natural language into computer code, coined by former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy.
Meanwhile, the Cambridge Dictionary selected 'parasocial', meaning a one-sided connection someone feels with a famous person they don't know. This followed a 2024 study finding such relationships with YouTubers were valued more than those with some real-life acquaintances.
The selection of 'rage bait' underscores a critical moment in digital culture, moving beyond passive consumption to an active recognition of the emotional manipulation embedded in the platforms we use daily.
